


Fleeting Shadows

by undeadpsycho13



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: M/M, Songfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-14
Updated: 2016-10-14
Packaged: 2018-08-22 08:05:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,613
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8278745
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/undeadpsycho13/pseuds/undeadpsycho13
Summary: Tomorrow they could go on quests.  Tomorrow they could be summoned by the gods.  Tomorrow they could fight monster after monster.
But tonight, let them savour each other in peace.





	

**Author's Note:**

> The lyrics are from Angel by Theory of a Deadman.
> 
> I wish I owned it, but I don't, hence this disclaimer.

_ I'm in love with an angel, heaven forbid, _

_ Made me a believer, with the touch of his skin. _

 

Nico really was an angel.  

Most would think he fit into the demon category, but Percy knew better.  It was not just his surname, di Angelo, that gave away the fact.  The boy had always been an angelic figure; an angelic figure wrapped in the shrouds of sorrow, yes, but one nonetheless.  The sorrow of memory loss, sorrow of his sister’s death, sorrow of unrequited love.

Once unrequited love.

He still remembered the first time an ice cold hand wrapped around his wrist, a desperate, pleading whisper, “ _ Don’t go. _ ” The vulnerability in his voice, the quiet, small sound ringing through the vastness of the universe… 

It was then that he fell for the boy, fell hard.

 

_ I'd go to hell and back with you, _

_ Still lost in what we found. _

_ Worlds apart we were the same, _

_ Until we hit the ground. _

 

Percy let go of the ledge.  He knew it was hopeless, that it had always been hopeless, that nothing bad would happen on this mission.  Something always goes wrong, no matter how much you pray to the gods for it to.

And now he was going straight to hell.

Literally.

He had looked up and seen the broken look in Nico’s eyes as he desperately clung to the edge.  Both knew there was no hope, both knew he was going to Tartarus no matter what.   _ Lead them to the other side _ , he had pleaded, with an unspoken  _ please _ at the end that Nico heard anyways.  Nico had never been one to follow what fate had in store for him, but he knew this case was hopeless.  As willing as he was to jump into The Pit with Percy to keep an eye out for him, protect him, Nico could never refuse those pleading green eyes, and knew that his reckless actions would do nothing to help anyone.   _ I promise _ , he whispered in response, even as the words ripped his heart to shreds,  _ I promise _ .

He bit his lip to prevent from crying out in pain as he watched Percy let go, bit it hard enough to draw blood.

He couldn’t decide whether the pain in his lip were greater or the pain in his heart.

 

_ Maybe I'm crazy maybe I'm weak _

_ Maybe I'm blinded by what I see _

_ You wanted a soldier _

_ But it wasn't me _

_ Because I could never set you free _

_ So fly on your own _

_ It's time I let you go _

_ Go, go _

 

The child of the Underworld took the route of the sea and the child of water took the underground path.  Each flew on their own, wielded their separate weapons, went their separate ways.

But in the end, they found each other once more.

They grasped at each other in the shadows fleetingly, and then left each other once more.  One went home, the other went on.  Both wondered if they would see each other again.

It turns out, they did.  Others were not so lucky.

 

_ I'm in love with an angel, who's afraid of the light _

_ Whose halo is broken but the fight in his eyes? _

_ Walls were built to keep us safe until they're crashing down _

_ Worlds apart we were the same _

_ Until you hit the ground _

 

Nico stayed away from the crowds, kept to himself during the celebrations.  He retreated into the darkness, where even his sister did not follow him.  Good.  Hazel deserved happiness, deserved life, deserved a chance.  Hazel could go so far, be the rare child of death his father wished to be happy; Nico was a lost cause.

Or so he thought.

It was Percy who approached him, the notoriously oblivious Percy who noticed something was off.  The younger of the two regarded the other warily, but in the end, it was Nico who voluntarily led Percy past the walls that he had carefully erected around himself.  The cold façade that had taken years to build finally crumbled and tears cascaded down his pale cheeks.

It had been the first time Nico had cried in front of another for quite some time.

But at least he was opening up.

 

_ Maybe I'm crazy maybe I'm weak _

_ Maybe I'm blinded by what I see _

_ You wanted a soldier _

_ But it wasn't me _

_ Because I could never set you free _

_ So fly on your own _

_ It's time I let you go _

_ Go, go _

 

As much as he loved the boy, despite his many dreams and hopes and wishes, Nico never thought he would one day call Percy his own.  Love that went two ways was a foreign concept to the boy, and love that was solely his was almost incomprehensible.  He distantly remembered the bond he shared with Bianca, yet that was but a faded memory, with no one to attest to it.  True, he had Hazel, but Hazel wasn’t Bianca, did not love him like Bianca loved him.  The love she provided seemed more like a substitute, and even that love was shared between her many friends and boyfriend.  Reyna’s love for him seemed forced, just as the situation had forced them together, and though he would fight by her side without complaint, maybe even willingly, the son of Hades still did not fully trust her, with only less than a year of history between the two.

With Percy it was different.  He gave him his undivided attention, listened to him rant on and on about random things.  Because he cared.

Since the beginning of his memories, at least the ones he still had, Percy had been there.  It was Percy who saved them from the manticore, Percy who had killed Geryon, Percy who had killed Kronos, Percy who saved them all.  And then the older boy lost his memory, yet still he fought for his friends, fought for them all.  Even if not all of them made it.  Percy had saved Nico, forgave him after the false accusations, forgave him after the betrayal.

He made him whole again.

He was no longer afraid of the light.

 

_ The walls are built to keep us safe until they're crashing down _

_ Worlds apart we were the same _

_ Until you hit the ground _

 

Percy groaned as he stumbled out of the Doors of Death and face-planted onto the ground.

Pain.

Pain clouded his vision, pain deadened his limbs, pain filled his mind to the brim, so that their was nothing but pain in his world.  Dimly aware of the blond girl collapsed next to him he managed to, amidst the pure agony, drag the two half a meter forward, then promptly crumpled to the ground once more.  A distant voice was screaming something, he was struggling to understand what, comprehend the jumbled words, they seemed to have been spoken by someone he knew… 

There was a flash of dark light streaking in front of him, and golden power was scattered like fairy dust over their bodies.

_ Wake up _ , his mind registered,  _ Wake up Percy!  Now! _

It was commanding, but not harsh, and Percy complied.  He opened his eyes, and immediately regretted it.  More pain.  But now, at least, he saw his friends around him fighting for dear life.

And Nico.

The ones who’s been screaming at him, who hasn’t given up on him yet.  Nico still believes he is strong enough to fight, because Nico knows him better than anyone else.  

Nico is right.

 

_ Maybe I'm crazy maybe I'm weak _

_ Maybe I'm blinded by what I see _

_ You wanted a soldier _

_ But it wasn't me _

_ Because I could never set you free _

_ So fly on your own _

_ It's time I let you go _

He doesn’t want him to go.

 

Even if it’s just two months, Percy doesn’t want Nico to leave camp again.  He knows he’s being selfish, he knows it is a summon from Hades, but despite all of this, Percy still clings onto his lover.

“I’ll be back,” the other whispers, clearly also reluctant, “It’s just two months, I’ll be back.”

He sounds as though he’s trying to convince himself, more so than even the other boy.  He had loved the other for so long, to see him begging him not to go… 

It was bitter-sweet.  Heart-breaking in the best and worst way.  Because he finally had what he always wanted.  And now he was going to leave.

He knew it would make it all the more painful, but couldn't resist.  He kissed the other, clutching at him desperately, and then in the moment of surprise backed away and faded into the shadows.

He left Percy standing there.

Just like he did every other time.

But unlike every other time, he’s promised to come back, and it’s a promise he intends to keep.

 

_ So fly on your own _

_ It's time I let you go _

_ Go, go _

 

The two boys lying under the blanket of darkness are not human.  Yet neither are they gods.  They are something in between, something caught in the middle of the two.

But tonight, tonight they are just two boys lying under the stars.

Tonight, they can forget everything and everyone else.  They can hide from the prophecies and gods and expectations.  

They don’t have to be Percy Jackson, twice savior of Olympus and Nico di Angelo, the Ghost King who controlled death with the rise and fall of his hand.  They can be Percy and Nico two normal people lying on the grass enjoying the stars.

And each other’s company.

Tomorrow they could go on quests.  Tomorrow they could be summoned by the gods.  Tomorrow they could fight monster after monster.

But tonight, let them savour each other in peace.

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry if I got some facts mixed up, I haven't read the books in so long. ;)


End file.
